1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bumper fascia supports for motor vehicle bumper fascias, to bumper fascia support and reinforcement assemblies, and to bumper assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
In motor vehicles, bumper assemblies are employed to protect the vehicle body from minor bumps and typically include a flexible bumper fascia (which is the portion of the bumper assembly seen by the consumer) and other parts for supporting and reinforcing the bumper fascia. Not only does the bumper assembly need to protect the vehicle body from minor bumps, it is also desirable that the bumper assembly be aesthetically-pleasing to the consumer as well. To achieve this, the bumper fascia should have a smooth, unblemished surface.
It is also preferred that the bumper assembly be made and assembled to the vehicle at a low cost, which usually coincides with requiring minimum manual labor. To minimize manual labor, it is desirable that the bumper assembly be assembled to the vehicle by automation as much as possible. In some current bumper assemblies, several attachment projections are provided on the bumper fascia and are used for attaching the bumper fascia to a bumper fascia support. The attachment projections, commonly called "tabs", have to be manually bent to be attached to the bumper fascia support. Since there are usually several tabs on these types of bumper fascias, at least three operators are required at one time to attach the bumper fascia to the bumper fascia support. It is, therefore, preferred that a bumper assembly be designed having a bumper fascia with a minimum of tabs.
It is also advantageous if the parts of the bumper assembly can be molded and require minimum use of tooling equipment, since tooling equipment is relatively expensive and often causes blemish lines in the parts.